Health Foundation -
Pressures on the NHS are severe and the new government is producing a 10-year plan for reform to make the health service ‘fit for the future’. Policy-makers have a long history of producing long-term plans for the NHS. But implementation has been mixed, and the political context, including levels of public spending and policy approach, has shaped their impact. This briefing looks at previous NHS long-term plans and draws on relevant evidence on NHS reform to identify priorities for the latest plan, due in the spring. It argues that government must provide hope, clarity, investment and focus on how change will happen in practice.